Ward Society

Creating An Impact That Makes a Difference

We strive to connect our health science students and alumni by coming together to learn about professional health careers, as well as exploring the various health related opportunities provided by Lipscomb. Below are some programs you can become involved in. Your ideas and involvement are crucial to the future of our college and the success of our students.

To learn more about becoming an active participant in the Ward Society, please contact Dr. fnmhlanga [at] lipscomb.edu (Florah N. Mhlanga), Ward Society Executive Director, or Jenny Lovell, CLAS Assistant Dean for Development.

The Ward Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program

• Each year, the society competitively awards summer research fellowships to students who must first be nominated by faculty members. Applications are then submitted to the Lipscomb University Health Professions Advisory Council which makes recommendations to the Executive Director of the Ward Society for final awarding. The Executive Director determines the number of awards that will be awarded each year. Students selected for a Ward Fellowship receive a summer stipend and are matched into a research program either on-site or at an off-site location.

Ward Society Mentoring Program

• Members of the J.S. Ward Society are involved in supporting and mentoring our students before and after they graduate, exploring new ways for both the college and its students to be successful in their fields related to health sciences. The Ward Society Mentoring program is probably one the best professional mentoring programs we have at Lipscomb University. This mentoring program connects our students with health care professionals, and it is executed in various ways. Our program perpetuates the valuable connectivity between students and alumni, whose advice and counsel through to current students is invaluable as they plan their career. 

Physician-in-Residence and Office Hours Program

• Underwritten by the society, The Physician-in-Residence Program enriches student learning and faculty development by connecting students with practitioners who have excelled in health care. The program brings to campus senior health care executives, renowned physicians, and successful entrepreneurs from a variety of industries, large and small, private and public. Physician-in-Residence is hosted on-campus to interact with students, give guest lectures or public seminars/demonstrations within their specific area of expertise. In addition, each program includes open office hours for all students and an evening presentation for the campus community. 

Physicians-in-Residence and their presentations

22/23 Physicians-in-Residence:

• Dr. Randy Davis: Open Forum on Pharmacy Compounding with Students and the Community
• Dr. Scott Guthrie: “Surfactant in Neonates: Minimally Invasive Methods of Surfactant Admission”
• Dr. Alisa Bowersock: “Public Health Perspectives Regarding the Repeal of Roe Vs Wade”
• Dr. Eric Grogan: Improving the accuracy of the diagnosis of lung cancer.

The Bison Doc Mentoring Program 

This is a one-on-one mentoring program that connects our pre-professional students entering their junior year with Ward Society members willing to serve as professional mentors, assist students in gaining invaluable clinical hours, and who, in some key cities, are willing to serve as interview hosts (Memphis, Louisville, Lexington, Birmingham, etc.).

Dinner & Conversation Program

In this program, mentoring of pre-health students takes place in a more relaxed home setting. Monthly Sunday Dinners are hosted by Drs. Jon and Kelly Bennie. The new hosts, Dr Raye and Mrs. Elise Mitchel will be joining the program in the fall 2023 and will alternate with the Bennies to host students. The purpose of these dinners is to allow time for health care professionals to speak with pre-professional students and to answer any questions they may have about their chosen health professions.

Heroes of Science

This is an annual award bestowed upon someone within the greater Lipscomb community who has made a significant contribution to science and medicine, as well as embraces and represents the ideals championed by CLAS. Those honored as part of this program share their stories with aspiring health professionals and the greater Lipscomb community in order to help shape the perception of those currently working in the field of health science. 

Past winners include:

• 2023 Hero of Science: Dr. Phil Choate 
• 2022 Hero of Science: Dr. Paul Langford
• 2018 Hero of Science: Dr. Manny Sethi
• 2017 Hero of Science: Stan Brock

The J.S. Ward Society is overseen by an executive advisory board made up of volunteers that include Lipscomb alumni, Nashville community leaders, health care professionals and others.

The board is committed to facilitating the fulfillment of Lipscomb’s mission and vision by enhancing its standing as one of the most outstanding undergraduate pre-health science programs in the country. As a group of committed donors, fundraisers, advisors and advocates, board members serve a three-year term with the opportunity for renewal.

The Ward Society Executive Advisory Board

Jeff Bennie, M.D. - Nashville, Tennessee
Robert Blaylock, D.V.M. - Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Alisa Bowersock, D.O. - Lebanon, Tennessee
Mark Cobb, M.D. - Columbia, Tennessee
Randy Davidson, M.D. - Columbia, Tennessee
Robbie Davis - Nashville, Tennessee
Greg Driskill, M.D. - Huntsville, Alabama
Lisa Driskill, M.D. - Huntsville, Alabama
Luvell Glanton, Jr. M.D. - St. Louis, Missouri
Gary Jerkins, M.D. - Nashville, Tennessee
David LaVelle, M.D. - Germantown, Tennessee
Tim Mangrum, M.D. - Nashville, Tennessee
Robert McClure, M.D. - Columbia, Tennessee
Jimmy Netterville, M.D. - Nashville, Tennessee
Becky Raby, M.D. - Huntsville, Alabama
Lon Raby, M.D. - Huntsville, Alabama
Howard Rupard, M.D. - Lewisburg, Tennessee
Gloria Sanders - Nashville, Tennessee
Kyle Stephens, D.O. - Springville, Tennessee
Joe Trammell, D.D.S. - Brentwood, Tennessee
Jeffrey Williams, M.D. - Nashville, Tennessee

Ex-officio, as chair of the Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC) - Matt Hearn, Ph.D.
Ex-officio, as dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences - David Holmes, Ph.D.
Ex-officio, as executive director of the J.S. Ward Society - Florah Mhlanga, Ph.D.

A Life of Purpose: A Short Biography of J.S. Ward 

James Samuel Ward was born on September 29, 1867, and grew up in Gadsden, Ala. In 1885, he entered Transylvania College in Lexington, Ky., where he graduated with his medical degree as valedictorian at age 21. He continued at Transylvania the next year taking post-graduate work in chemistry and physics. He entered the medical school of the University of Nashville where he received his DDS degree at age 26, graduating summa cum laude and becoming the first in the state to receive both a degree in medicine and dentistry.

In Nashville in 1893, Dr. Ward joined the faculty of a new school for which his father, J. R. Ward, was both a trustee and had been involved in the purchase of a home to house the small, faith-based school where “the Bible was taught as a textbook every day.” The school had been founded two years earlier by David Lipscomb and James A. Harding, marking the beginning of what is today known as Lipscomb University and Academy. 

Ward would see patients at his medical office in the morning, catch a streetcar to the campus and teach science in the afternoon, donating his services to the school. Dr. Ward’s contribution was key to the founding of the school’s science department as he added science credentials to the school’s small faculty.  David Lipscomb wrote, “Emphasis on the sciences—particularly through the influence of Dr. J.S. Ward—has turned many of the students toward pre-med study.”  With Dr. Ward, Lipscomb’s legacy in preparing young people for careers in health care had begun.

After practicing medicine for several years, Ward accepted the chair of chemistry at the University of Nashville, a position that he held for 21 years while continuing to donate his teaching services to the young but thriving Nashville Bible School, twice serving as its president.  During this time, he purchased supplies and science equipment for his teaching and lab work out of his own pocket.  When the school moved to the Lipscomb farm south of Nashville on Granny White Pike, J.S. Ward and his family moved with it, living on campus, where Mrs. Ward ran the girls’ dormitory and raised their three children.

About 1912, the University of Nashville moved to Memphis to become known as the University of Tennessee.  J.S. Ward was invited to go to Memphis to continue his chairmanship of the science department and teaching, but he declined out of devotion to Lipscomb and the Nashville Bible School and his desire that his children continue their education there.  Ward resigned from the school in 1918, soon after Lipscomb died. He then accepted an offer from his friend, A. M. Burton, to set up the medical department of Life and Casualty Insurance Company in Nashville and became its first medical director, a position he held for 23 years.